Is Justice Being Done – Malaysiakini

The people are shouting hoarse clamouring that “Justice must not only be done, it must also be seen to be done.

Karpal Singh wanted Najib and Balasubramaniam to testify, but Judge Mohd Zaki Yasin using court jargon says this will be done when the need rises. To prove his point further he says Karpal has no legal standing to make the application as he was not a party to the trial.

This is all correct, I believe, based on convention. But this is a murder case of the century, where a foreign national is involved, will not the world scream and caustically comment on the type of justice we have in this country.

Mongolian honorary consul Syed Abdul Rahman AlHabshi, who was present at Wednesday’s proceedings, said Altantuya’s father, Setev Shaariibuu, expressed his “frustration” over the way the trial was going.
“He is frustrated, he can’t see any light at the end of the tunnel. Where is justice?”

Meanwhile, reform movement Aliran today described the dismissal of Karpal’s application as a “great shock to all those praying for justice to prevail”.
Aliran president P Ramakrishnan said that Karpal, although not directly involved in the case, should be allowed to make the application in the interest of justice.
“Surely Karpal could be treated as a friend of the court and be allowed to make this application in the interest of justice,” he said.

“The deputy prime minister’s name for whatever reason keeps cropping up now and then in relation to this case and this would have provided him with a golden opportunity to vindicate himself and lay to rest whatever suspicion that may be lurking around,” said Ramakrishnan.
He also said that Balasubramaniam ought to have been recalled to ascertain the veracity of his statement as a witness.
“When these two crucial issues are hanging in the air begging for an answer, how can the court slam the door on this matter?”

So, it is where is justice, and the court slams the matter on this application. They are being polite to the Judge by virtue of his position. But for a man in the street who need not couch his explanation in such polite terms, says the Judge is wrong. Can the Chief Justice change the present Judge to satisfy the saying “Justice must not only be done, but it must also seen to be done”.